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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to boat trailers, and more particularly to a boat trailer with an extendable tongue for facilitating the launching and loading of a boat without having to place the tow vehicle in proximity to the water.
2. Description of Related Art
The launching and retrieving of a boat from and onto a boat trailer is accomplished at a boat ramp. Such boat ramps typically have a sloped surface leading to the water onto which the boat trailer and tow vehicle must be positioned with the boat trailer sufficiently in the water to effect launching of the boat therefrom. However, the ramp surface may be irregular or even slippery causing the tow vehicle to lose traction when attempting to retrieve the boat atop the trailer from the water. Additionally, where the boat ramp is sufficiently shallow in slope, the tow vehicle may even have to become partially submerged at its rear wheels to position the boat trailer in sufficiently deep water to effect launching of the boat therefrom.
One answer to this problem of the tow vehicle getting too close to, or even submerged into, the water is to provide an extendable tongue of the boat trailer which effectively extends the distance between the tow vehicle and the boat trailer and boat thereon. A number of prior art patents disclose various forms of trailer extension inventions as shown in the following U.S. Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,195 to Clark
U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,766 to Habriga
U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,353 to Williams et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,986 to Moody et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,737 to Williams et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,494 to Kelley
U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,325 to Thompson et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,138 to George et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,121 to Dobosi
U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,266 to Foster
U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,611 to Smith et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,519 to Heyser
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,219 to Rendzio
U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,451 to Woodall
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,177 to Grice
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,121 to Collis
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,168 to Kehl
U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,494 to Hughes
U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,425 to Springer
U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,474 to Kay
Many of these above-referenced prior art disclosures teach various forms of telescopically extendable trailer tongues with various actuation means to effect the lengthening and shortening thereof. A few of these references also disclose an auxiliary tongue extension which is carried on the boat trailer and then placed into service when launching and retrieving a boat to effectively increase the length of the trailer tongue to prevent the tow vehicle from being positioned too close to the water to effect launching and retrieval.
The present invention provides a unique, ever-ready-for-use tongue extension which is very easily deployed while maintaining full stability and control of the trailer as deployment is effected and afterward, while towing the boat trailer.
This invention is directed to a boat trailer having a multi-wheel supported frame and an extendable tongue which facilitates launching a boat into the water. A tongue member has a rear portion connected to and forwardly extending from the frame and a forward portion adapted for releasable connection to a trailer hitch of a tow vehicle. A tongue extension includes two extension members pivotally connected together to a central connecting member and pivotally connected at a corresponding opposite end of each extension member between the forward and rear portions. The extension members are pivotally movable between the upright side-by-side stored position and the deployed position in end-to-end fashion and longitudinally aligned with the forward and rear portions wherein the effective length of the tongue member is extended by an amount equal to the combined length of the extension members.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a boat trailer having a uniquely configured extension for the tongue of the boat trailer to facilitate launching and reloading of a boat in water without having to submerge a portion of the tow vehicle.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an extension for the tongue of a boat trailer which is in ready position for deployment in extending the length of the tongue of the boat during launching and boat retrieval and which provides trailer stability when towed by the tow vehicle.